As Immediate Past Chair of the Board of the Accounting Standards Board of Nepal (ASB Nepal), Mr. Thapa was nominated for the Vice-Chair position and subsequently approved by the Government of Nepal. Following the completion of his two-year term as Vice-Chair, he will assume the role of Chair.

The Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG) is a forum of accounting standard-setters across the Asian-Oceanian region. The group facilitates discussion and the sharing of experiences on the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and contributes to the development of a high-quality set of global accounting standards. AOSSG currently comprises 31 member countries. Its vision is to promote high-quality financial reporting that serves stakeholders’ public interest requirements for transparency, accountability, and efficiency.

The Accounting Standards Board of Nepal noted the following in its press release:

“This appointment is a significant milestone for Nepal, highlighting country’s influence and leadership on the international stage. Mr. Thapa is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience in accounting and auditing profession, policy reform, and regulatory oversight and his previous roles include Immediate Past Chair of ASB Nepal and Past President and Founder of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN). This appointment is both a recognition of Nepal’s growing leadership in the international financial and sustainability reporting community and a strong acknowledgment of the contribution made by Mr. Thapa. Mr. Thapa is committed to continuing the regional cooperation, supporting emerging and developing economies, and working with member jurisdictions to advance global accounting and sustainability reporting standards.

AOSSG is a prestigious regional group of accounting standard-setters. The Vice-Chair leads the regional coordination of standard-setting activities and represents member views internationally, including at various IFRS Foundation meetings. ASB Nepal is immensely proud of Mr. Thapa's appointment. His proven leadership and dedication will be invaluable to the AOSSG. This is a moment of pride for Nepal, affirming our continuous commitment to the international reporting standards. ASB Nepal reaffirms its continued commitment to the AOSSG’s shared vision and will remain actively engaged in its working groups, capacity-building efforts, and collaborative initiatives.”

Relevant experience and contributions to the profession

Mr. Thapa has over 30 years of experience in accounting, auditing, public financial management, regulatory oversight, and policy advisory in both Nepal and Australia. He is the Past President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) and the Immediate Past Chair of ASB Nepal, reflecting his long-standing commitment to promoting high-quality financial reporting standards in Nepal. He is currently leading the development of Nepal Sustainability Reporting Standards (NSRS), aligned with IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, as Chair of the NSRS Committee formed by ASB Nepal. Over two decades, he has played a significant role in shaping Nepal’s financial reporting and auditing regulatory landscape through service in key institutional positions.

Mr. Thapa served as Chair and member of various ICAN Council Committees between 2003–2006 and 2015–2018, contributing to the strengthening of regulatory frameworks, improved compliance, and the modernisation of professional standards. He is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

He has also played a crucial role in regulatory oversight as a member of the Deposit and Credit Guarantee Fund, the Securities Board of Nepal, and the Advisory Council of the Office of the Auditor General of Nepal, consistently advocating for transparent and fair financial reporting within these jurisdictions. In addition, he served as a Board Member of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) from 2017–2018.

We have acquired an audit firm that will be integrated into our existing audit division. Through this acquisition, our revenue in the audit business will grow by more than 40%. The headcount of the audit division will increase to nearly 15 professionals. As a result, the number of companies we audit will be more than 120 mandates. This expansion strengthens our market position and enhances our ability to serve a broader client base. It also represents a significant step towards our vision which is to become Hungary’s No.1 locally founded brand within our industry.

About Niveus

Niveus is a widely known, dynamically developing player in the domestic consultancy market.

Over the past 18 years, they have assisted more than 750 clients with transfer pricing, tax, legal, accounting, auditing, transaction advisory and advisory projects in various strategic areas. Since their inception, despite strong competition, they have achieved significant growth year on year and have become the market leader in certain segments.

They currently have over 75 highly qualified professionals at their clients' disposal, and many of their senior colleagues are nationally recognised experts in their fields.

The deal broadens the Shaw Gibbs Group’s (Shaw Gibbs) service offering with a dedicated HR consultancy arm, creating a combined team of 645 professionals across 18 offices in Central and Southern England.

The acquisition, which is the 11^th completed by Shaw Gibbs since 2023, will give the group’s client base of around’ 7,000 businesses access to Reality HR’s specialist HR consultancy services and team of CIPD-qualified consultants.

Clients of Shaw Gibbs will also benefit from access to Reality HR’s recruitment services and established Learning and Development team, including an Executive Coach, a Mediator and Insights Discovery practitioners, alongside tailored training solutions and development programmes for business leaders and managers.

The Reality HR team, largely based in and around Basingstoke, will continue to operate independently while expanding the support available to their client base nationwide.  

Sally-Ann Hall-Jones, CEO at Reality HR, will continue to lead the business as it joins Shaw Gibbs.

She said:

“I am immensely proud of how much Reality HR has grown since it was founded in 2004, from small boutique consultancy to one of the largest in the UK. We are now at the next stage in our growth journey and Shaw Gibbs can provide support and scale to build on our success.

“Shaw Gibbs is a perfect match for us – the team there share our values and our belief in putting people at the heart of business success.”

Laura Davis, Chair of Reality HR, added:

“Joining Shaw Gibbs brings exciting opportunities for our team, including access to greater resources and more diverse projects and new career pathways.

“We’re also proud to bring our expertise to Shaw Gibbs’ partners and clients, helping even more businesses succeed by getting the best out of their people.”

Peter O’Connell, CEO of the Shaw Gibbs Group said:

“We are thrilled to welcome Reality HR to Shaw Gibbs.

“It’s important to us to find firms with a similar culture and client-base to collaborate with, as well as the drive to provide high quality advisory services. The team at Reality HR share our commitment to excellence, client service, quality and building lasting relationships, making them a perfect fit.

“We can now offer our clients genuine specialist people support backed by a team with proven expertise and a strong reputation in the sector.”

Reality HR is renowned for working in partnership with business owners, leaders and in-house HR teams, offering a range of support including day-to-day HR, rapid response, large projects, employee engagement programmes, management training, and recruitment.

The addition of Reality HR to the Shaw Gibbs Group will result in a practice with 55 Partners and 645 people based in Central and Southern England.

Shaw Gibbs Group was advised by Osborne Clarke. Reality HR was advised by Will Anderson of Clarke & Sons.

For more information see shawgibbs.com and realityhr.co.uk

About Reality HR

Reality HR is a team of CIPD-qualified HR Consultants, supporting businesses to get the best out of their people through day-to-day HR, complex people management projects and urgent HR support. The team specialises in learning and development, employee engagement programmes, tailored management training, employee relations, strategic HR planning, restructuring and redundancy support, and recruitment.

www.realityhr.co.uk

About the Shaw Gibbs Group

Shaw Gibbs is a top 40 accountancy practice who provide expert solutions for entrepreneurial businesses and private individuals in Central and Southern England. Investing in teams of high-quality specialists, they work with the best-in-breed technology to create value for clients which exceeds expectation.

www.shawgibbs.com